British F3 Season Kicks Off

The series has expanded this year to incorporate ten circuits in five countries, including the famous Grand Prix circuits at Spa-Francorchamps, Monza, the Nurburgring and Silverstone.

As usual, there are two classes running consecutively: the Championship Class, which is for cars run to FIA specifications; and the National Class (formerly Scholarship Class), run for cars up to three years old and with a control Mugen Honda engine. Both classes use control tyres, provided by Avon.

The series is remarkably open this year, with no one stamping their authority to date.

The leading returnees to the series are Marko Asmer and Danilo Dirani, who carries the hopes of chassis constructor Lola on his shoulders, while Formula Renault UK Champion Mike Conway, Formula BMW Champion Tim Bridgman and last year's National Class Champion Ryan Lewis will all be hoping to impress.

Arriving from Formula Ford are Dan Clarke, who won the festival and was placed second overall. He leads the new Kimi Raikkonen co-owned team. Also arriving from FFord is Charlie Kimball, who has looked fast and smooth so far in testing and will be hoping to prove an American can succeed in racing without Red Bull backing.

There will be two women competing in the series for the first time ever - two time McLaren Autosport BRDC Award finalist Susie Stoddart coming in from Formula Renault, and Formula Dream graduate (and ex-model) Keiko Ihara, who has struggled to date with the speed of the car.

2005 British Formula Three International Series Entry List

Championship Class

No. Driver (Nationality)      Team                 Chassis/Engine
 1. Danilo Dirani (BRA)       P1 Motorsport        Lola B05/30 Mugen-Honda
 2. James Walker (GBR)        Fortec Racing        Dallara F305 Opel Spiess
 3. Ronayne O'Mahony(IRE)     Fortec Racing        Dallara F305 Opel Spiess
 4. Christian Bakkerud (DAN)  Carlin Motorsport    Dallara F305 Mugen-Honda
 5. Keiko Ihara (JAP)         Carlin Motorsport    Dallara F305 Mugen-Honda
 6. Charlie Kimball (USA)     Carlin Motorsport    Dallara F305 Mugen-Honda
 7. Susie Stoddart (GBR)      Alan Docking Racing  Dallara F305 Mugen-Honda
 8. Steven Kane (GBR)         Promatecme F3        Lola B05/30 Mugen-Honda
 9. Stephen Jelley (GBR)      Menu F3 Motorsport   Dallara F305 Opel Spiess
11. Tim Bridgman (GBR)        Hitech Racing        Dallara F305 Mugen-Honda
12. Marko Asmer (EST)         Hitech Racing        Dallara F305 Mugen-Honda
26. Mike Conway (GBR)         Fortec Racing        Dallara F305 Opel Spiess
27. Dan Clarke (GBR)          Double R Racing      Dallara F305 Mugen-Honda
28. Bruno Senna (BRA)         Double R Racing      Dallara F305 Mugen-Honda
69. Ryan Lewis (GBR)          T-Sport              Dallara F304 Mugen-Honda

National Class

No.  Driver (Nationality)    Team                 Chassis/Engine
31N  Barton Mawer (AUS)      T-Sport              Dallara F305 Mugen-Honda
32N  Suk Sandher (SWE)       Performance Racing   Dallara F304 Mugen-Honda
33N  Charlie Hollings (GBR)  Promatecme F3        Lola-Dome F106/4 Mugen-Honda
34N  Ricardo Teixeira (ANG)  Carlin Motorsport    Dallara F304 Mugen-Honda
35N  Juho Annala (FIN)       Alan Docking Racing  Dallara F304 Mugen-Honda
36N  Jonathan Kennard (GBR)  Alan Docking Racing  Dallara F304 Mugen-Honda
38N  Cheong Lou Meng (CHI)   Edenbridge Racing    Dallara F304 Mugen-Honda
39N  TBA                     Edenbridge Racing    Dallara F304 Mugen-Honda
42N  Salvador Duran (MEX)    P1 Motorsport        Dallara F304 Mugen-Honda

2005 British Formula Three International Series Calendar

Round  Date        Circuit            Country
 1, 2  03/04/2005  Donington Park     Great Britain
 3, 4  17/04/2005  Spa-Francorchamps  Belgium
 5, 6  08/05/2005  Croft              Great Britain
 7, 8  22/05/2005  Knockhill          Great Britain
 9,10  29/05/2005  Thruxton           Great Britain
11,12  26/06/2005  Castle Combe       Great Britain
13,14  10/07/2005  Monza              Italy
15,16  14/08/2005  Silverstone (GP)   Great Britain
17,18  04/09/2005  Nurburgring        Germany
19,20  18/09/2005  Mondello Park      Ireland
21,22  09/10/2005  Silverstone (Int)  Great Britain